Exploring Your Own Backyard

Explore local parks near you!
Sarah Crawford

As I completed week two of my virtual internship, I struggled to decide what to focus on for my blog.  Ideally, people reading my blog would be students who are looking forward to coming to Ireland to have a similar experience, working and traveling. 

However, now that internships are being completed virtually, it may be a very different experience for each person depending on where they live.  Yes, we will all learn to work on our computers, send emails, and act professionally during a virtual call, but our options for activities outside of work are probably very different.

As much as I wish we were leaving the office together to go to a local pub or planning out our weekend trips, we have to make the best of it from wherever we are.  We can explore together separately.

Something we all have in common to explore (no matter where we live) are local parks.  Now, I know some are better than others – if you live near the mountains or beach, I’m jealous!  But we all have them, I live near Cincinnati, Ohio so if I can find beautiful parks around here, I can almost guarantee you can find them anywhere.

I’m challenging you to explore the local parks near you!  I bet there are more than you think.  Search parks near me on the Google, make a list and start checking them off as you go.  Some may be a let-down, but others might be your new favorite place.

 I started doing this about three weeks ago when the weather started to warm up and I wanted to be outside – fresh air really does wonders for my mood.  I haven’t loved all of them, but there are some that I would definitely return to in the future.  This Sunday I visited one of my favorites thus far.

Little Miami State Park is a park that is located about 35 minutes North of downtown Cincinnati.  We brought our bikes and rode along the bike trail.  This bike trail is about 70 miles long and goes through several different townships and cities.  I couldn’t believe that this trail is so close to my home and I had never been.  After the bike ride we rewarded ourselves with a delicious carryout Buffalo Chicken Pizza at a picnic table along the trail.  It was so great to be able to enjoy the sunshine in a new place. 

The next place on my list is John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs Ohio.  This is will be about an hour drive, but based on what I’ve been reading they have great hiking and breweries.  The more I explore, the more I hear about different parks in the area, and my list keeps getting longer and longer.


What park are you going to next?

Trees in a forest

It's even better when you can explore with friends - I was lucky to go to the bike trail with my family.

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